Questions surrounding the accuracy of dog breed tests have surfaced after a pet company twice provided dubious results for human swab samples.
WBZ News recently disclosed that its investigations team received dog breed results from DNA My Dog after a reporter submitted a swab sample—from her own cheek.
Per the Toronto-based company’s analysis, WBZ News reporter Christina Hager apparently boasts a genetic makeup of 40% Alaskan malamute, 35% shar-pei, and 25% labrador.
However, Hager also dispatched her samples to two other pet genetic testing companies. Orivet, based in Melbourne, Australia, and Florida, reported that the sample “failed to provide the data necessary to perform the breed ID analysis.” Meanwhile, Washington-based Wisdom Panel stated that the sample “didn’t provide … enough DNA to produce a reliable result.”
This development follows a similar incident last year when WBZ News submitted a sample from New Hampshire pet owner Michelle Leininger’s cheek to DNA My Dog. The results purported Leininger to be 40% border collie, 32% cane corso, and 28% bulldog.
“Some people would agree with that at times, but no, no,” Leininger humorously remarked to WBZ News.
At the time, DNA My Dog asserted to WBZ News that canine DNA was detected solely on one of Leininger’s two cheek swabs.
“The second sample did in fact yield canine DNA … The results provided would not be possible on a human sample,” the company clarified.
The global dog DNA test market, valued at $235 million in 2022, is predicted to reach $723 million by 2030, according to Zion Market Research. Key players in the industry include DNA My Dog, Orivet, and Wisdom Panel, among others.
Nevertheless, flawed outcomes have raised doubts regarding the reliability of DNA tests.
Commenting on Leininger’s results last year, Lisa Moses, a Harvard Medical School veterinarian and bioethicist, remarked to WBZ News, “I think that is a red flag for sure … A company should know if they’ve in any basic way analyzed a dog’s DNA, that that is not a dog.”
Moses continued, “There isn’t necessarily a gold standard answer for what your dog is … A breed is something that we’ve decided, which is based upon essentially the way a dog looks … But that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to know what their genes look like.”
In light of WBZ News’ latest reporting, skepticism has brewed on social media.
“It would be interesting to see what the results would be if they sent dog DNA to one of the human DNA genealogy testing sites,” one user pondered.
Another individual expressed, “Throw money at something like this? Never!! Would never trust it.”
“Lol some folks may wanna check their family tree,” jestingly remarked another social media user.
